Ehlinger throws three TDs, No. 12 Texas beats Rice, 48-13

HOUSTON — Texas coach Tom Herman wanted to see his team put last week’s loss behind them and start fast Saturday night.

The Longhorns did just that.

Sam Ehlinger threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Jake Smith caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns and No. 12 Texas rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 48-13 rout of Rice.

“We said all week elite teams, you don’t prove to yourself you’re an elite team by winning every top 10 matchup that you face,” Herman said. “Obviously, we wish we would have played better last week, but this week was going to be the big test to prove to ourselves that we could prepare, train, take care of our bodies at an elite level. And then, obviously, we had to go out there and play and start fast, and I thought both sides of the ball really, really showed they believed in that.”

Ehlinger threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Roschon Johnson to cap the opening drive before throwing touchdown passes of 53 yards and 12 yards to Smith in the first half. Ehlinger finished 23 of 27 passing in less than three quarters.

“Any type of game where you win after a loss is huge,” Ehlinger said. “For us to come out and play to our standard, continue to prove to ourselves that when we work really hard and play to our standard, it is hard for people to beat us is great.”

Keaontay Ingraham rushed for 74 yards and had touchdown runs of 26 yards and 14 yards after rushing for 29 yards on 10 carries last week.

“I think Keaontay definitely bounced back,” Herman said. “Early I thought he got a little bit frustrated, and we had to remind him ‘Hey we knew it was going to be this kind of game, especially early’. He found his groove, the (offensive) line found their groove. I think it was important for him to have a game like this.”

Cameron Dicker nailed a career-long 57-yard field goal a minute before halftime to push Texas’ lead to 31-0.